CHICAGO — Not long after disclosing that its french fries contain more trans fat than thought, McDonald's Corp. said Monday that wheat and dairy ingredients are used to flavour the popular menu item -- an acknowledgment it had not previously made.

The presence of those substances can cause allergic or other medical reactions in food-sensitive consumers.

McDonald's had said until recently that its fries were free of gluten and milk or wheat allergens and safe to eat for those with dietary issues related to the consumption of dairy items. But the fast-food company quietly added "Contains wheat and milk ingredients'' this month to the french fries listing on its [U.S.] website.

The company said the move came in response to new rules by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the packaged foods industry, including one requiring that the presence of common allergens such as milk, eggs, wheat, fish or peanuts be reported. As a restaurant operator, Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald's does not have to comply but is doing so voluntarily.

McDonald's director of global nutrition, Cathy Kapica, said its potato suppliers remove all wheat and dairy proteins, such as gluten, which can cause allergic reactions. But the flavouring agent in the cooking oil is a derivative of wheat and dairy ingredients, and the company decided to note their presence because of the FDA's stipulation that potential allergens be disclosed.

"We knew there were always wheat and dairy derivatives in there, but they were not the protein component,'' she said. "Technically there are no allergens in there. What this is an example of is science evolving'' and McDonald's responding as more is learned, she said.

While the company wanted to make consumers aware that fries were derived in part from wheat and dairy sources, she said, those who have eaten the product without problem should be able to continue to do so without incident.

Since it was posted on McDonald's website, the acknowledgment has stirred anger and some concern among consumers who are on gluten-free diets.

"If they're saying there's wheat and dairy derivatives in the oil, as far as anyone with this disease is concerned there's actually wheat in it," said New York resident Jillian Williams, one of more than two million Americans with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder triggered by gluten.

"They should have disclosed that all along,'' she said. "They should never have been calling them gluten-free.''

McDonald's has been reluctant to risk changing the taste of its heavy-selling fries. It pledged in September 2002 to switch to a new oil that would halve the level of harmful trans fatty acid in its fries. But it has delayed those plans, citing product quality and customer satisfaction as priorities while continuing testing.

Asked about the status of its efforts Monday, Kapica said: "It's a very high priority and we are very committed to continuing with testing and lowering the level of trans fat without raising the level of saturated fat. ... It's a lot harder than we originally thought but that is not stopping us.''

McDonald's shares fell eight cents to $36.25 US in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange -- up seven per cent in 2006.

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A member of my local support group is investigating to see if Canadian McDonald's fries are the same.

I would think that there would be a difference between not declaring ingredients in the "flavours" and claiming that a product is free of those ingredients--I always assumed that under the old regulations McDonald's would have been liable if when asked they said that their product was wheat and dairy free and it wasn't. That raises questions about what other companies are telling us...

One of my local support group members did some research on Canadian fries. This is what she told me:

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I called McDonalds today. According to their consumer relations department, the Canadian french fries are produced by Canadian suppliers and they have not changed their production. She says that their french fries do not contain wheat or dairy. When I asked her what they put in the Canadian fries for flavoring she said potatoes, beef fat and cottonseed oil. She said there were no other ingredients added in the flavoring.

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I would like to be able to say, "If a large company like that is telling us the Canadian fries are safe, then they must be safe." But given their recent conduct in the U.S., I'm not comfortable giving that advice. So this info is purely FYI. Each family or individual must make their decision based on the facts they have at hand.

If anyone else here calls McDonald's (in Canada), please post what they say. If their answer is consistent with what was said above, I will feel a bit better. If we get different messages, then ... well, we'll take it from there.

ALSO: The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) has issued a reply to the U.S. controversy. Go to http://tinyurl.com/blztg for that.

K.

P.S. I don't actually take my kids to McDonald's because of their long list of allergies, and because my youngest is very allergic to dairy and I still cannot bring myself to believe that some teenager behind the counter wouldn't grab a piece of cheese and then grab another food item -- but that is my own personal comfort zone!

Yes, I absolutely think it is worth suing over! Even if the amounts were extremely small, and not containing protein...they still need to claim that they are there, and not market it as free of milk/wheat. As a parent, your only hopes of outgrowing this is strict avoidance. Was the amount too small or insignificant to be causing severe obvious symptoms, but enough to delay a child from outgrowing it, or contributing to someones eczema, asthma or mental focus, and feeling well? How to you measure how being lied to, and exposing your allergic loved one to milk/wheat derivatives without your knowledge may have inmpacted their health, and interfered with your attempts of outgrowing their allergy?

What about those with religious, moral beliefs who avoid animal derivatives...mcdonalds snuck milk derivatives into food and claimed that it was not there.

They lied ... I hope they feel the consequences in their pocket books...maybe get a message out there that it is NOT okay to lie about ingredients, for the sake of "marketing".

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